


Blue, Baby

by Auggusst



Series: Heart and Mind [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Tony Stark, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fluff and Angst, House Planning, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark Friendship, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pregnant Tony Stark, planning a nursery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24226507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auggusst/pseuds/Auggusst
Summary: After the surprise visit from Secretary Ross, Pepper and Tony discuss the situation and begin the long process of designing a nursery for his baby.
Relationships: Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Heart and Mind [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1670740
Comments: 28
Kudos: 202





	Blue, Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to get this out quick before I start writing the big stuff! Pep deserved some screen time, and she'll be getting more in the big stuff, but this moment stuck out to me and had to be written.

“What happened?” Pepper asked, setting her bags down next to the couch.

“That obvious, huh?” Tony replied with a sigh.

“For the most part, you’re not very subtle about your emotions,” she replied, sitting down next to Tony.

Her scent reminded him of peppermint, and he’d said as such the day they met, when she had the balls to check his math on a spreadsheet and it turned out she was _right_. He loved her for that. He loved how smart she was, how versatile, how she seemed to be able to handle any and every situation. It didn’t take a genius (and he was one!) to figure out that Pepper Potts was a friend worth having.

He was glad to have her, couldn’t believe she had stuck around when his life turned from regular crazy to insanely unbelievably crazy. Was there a step above that? If there was, he was sure he was approaching it.

Tony leaned forward, grabbed his drink from the coffee table. “Secretary Ross dropped in,” he said with a bitter smile. He took a sip.

Pepper let out a little groan. She’d heard enough stories about the Secretary of State, had endured her share of legal headaches because of him. Like most men in positions of power, he had an air of superiority, and refused to listen. Pepper had more than a few negative encounters with government officials and businessmen, not only as a woman CEO, but also as an Omega. The old stigmas had pretty much died, but there would always be that handful of assholes who didn’t get with the program.

Ross struck her as one of those types. She couldn’t stand him. “What did he want?”

“He threatened me,” Tony replied. “And I threatened him back. Nearly ripped his goddamn shirt in the process.”

“He _threatened_ you?” she asked in disbelief. “Why?”

Tony sighed, rubbed his temple. A headache had set in, no doubt thanks to the stress of the day. “He came up with this idiotic plan to catch Steve. He wanted to use me, use the baby, as bait. It pissed me off too much. I just snapped.”

“But he didn’t know that you were carrying. How did he find out?”

“A fucking snitch,” the Alpha replied, growling softly at the thought. He’d gone easy on the man, the poor fool who’d taken a bribe, but part of him wished he hadn’t. Part of him wished he had left the guy with nothing, so he, and everyone else, truly understood what it meant to betray him. But he couldn’t. He wondered now though, about all of his employees, about the people he’d seen and spoken to. If the DoD was able to pressure one of them, who’s to say they couldn’t pressure more? Tony would have to up security measures, for sure. He didn’t want anything like today happening again.

Pep seemed equally disturbed at the news. “Someone _leaked_?”

“One of the doctors. They bribed him into coughing up medical records.”

“That’s—That’s illegal!”

Tony scoffed. “Yeah, well the DoD doesn’t seem much to care.”

“Let me get this straight: Ross came here, after illegally obtaining information about your personal life, and used that information to try and pressure you into agreeing with one of his plans?”

“That’s about it.”

Pepper huffed, and her shoulders went high and tight like they always did when she was upset. He saw it coming, honestly, knew that she wouldn’t take the news well, but it was kind of endearing seeing her reaction anyway.

She leaned down to her purse and pulled out her phone, swiped at it furiously. “I’m getting our lawyers on the line. He can’t do that! He legally can’t!”

The brunet shook his head, covered her hand with his own to stop her from calling. “Don’t bother. The UN put him up to it. If they’re all in on it, there’s no way I’m winning the fight, even if our lawyers are good.”

“But—“

Tony gave her a look. “Let it go, Pep.”

She frowned, thought about ignoring his words, but eventually conceded. “Fine. We won’t sue the government. But the leak—“

“I scared the piss out of him. We won’t be hearing anything from him.”

Pepper gave him a skeptical look. She knew Tony had never really disciplined his employees, except those that had worked with Obadiah. She doubted the consequences he doled out this time were severe enough to fit the situation. Pepper was more than a little protective of him, always had been. But now, when he’d been so thoroughly hurt, and Steve was gone, and he was _pregnant_ , her urge to protect him, to keep him safe and happy, grew exponentially.

She couldn’t imagine what it was like, going through all of that. Tony had suffered a lot, was strong enough to handle a lot, but even he would break eventually. She was afraid of seeing that happen. She still had a company to run, and plenty of work to do, but made herself available whenever possible. She’d postponed a meeting actually to come over today, to get started on planning the nursery. She didn’t doubt that Tony could handle it himself if he wanted to, but she was glad he’d asked for her input. Rhodey was gone for a few days, so she knew Tony needed the company, and a distraction.

This news about Ross and the UN though, it unsettled her. If they were bold enough to suggest using Tony in their plans, who knew what else they would do or try? She doubted they would just drop the subject. And the leak? They had to be sure he wouldn’t talk again.

“Please tell me you fired him.”

Tony nodded, fiddled with the corner of his blanket. “I did. He won’t be allowed back here.”

She leaned forward, raised a brow. “So he confessed? Or did you have to pull it out of him?”

“He confessed. He did it because of his wife, and kid. They’ve got a lot of medical problems,” Tony explained.

Pepper sighed, rubbed her temple. She didn’t even want to ask her next question, because something told her she already knew the answer, but she asked anyway. “You gave him money, didn’t you?”

Tony let out a little laugh, despite the severity of the situation. Pepper knew him so well. She always did. “I did.”

“Tony…”

“Look—He had nothing against me personally. He was in a tough fucking spot, and was pressured into it. I’m sure they threatened him too. The point is, I know what it’s like to have your back against the wall, and to feel like there’s no way out. He’s always done good work before, and I just…I didn’t want to ruin his life. Maybe I’m just being sentimental. I don’t know. Just blame it on the baby,” he replied, gave her a little smile, hoping she wouldn’t be too upset.

Pepper regarded him, at first chastising, but then her expression melted into fondness. Tony _did_ have a big heart, she’d always known. That hadn’t changed over the years. “You’re impossible,” she said with a sigh, but smiled a little.

“I know,” he replied.

“I still think we should sue,” Pepper admitted, setting her phone down on the coffee table. She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Or do something. Who knows what else they’ll try to do.”

“I’ll handle it,” Tony insisted, shrugging lightly. “Already thinking of new encryption protocols, and I’m going to reduce the staff. The less people here, the better.”

“And you’re really comfortable staying here for nine months?” she asked, face serious. “You don’t want to make it public? So you could at least leave the house?”

The Alpha shook his head. “I don’t. That was part of his plan—to lure Steve in with the news. It’s better I stay here, until the baby’s here, and I can announce it on my own terms.”

“What makes you so sure they’ll respect your wishes?” Pepper asked, and she had a fair point. She usually did. “What makes you think they won’t let the news slip to some website? It’ll be everywhere in a matter of seconds.”

“FRIDAY is keeping an eye out for that. So much as a sniff on the topic, and I’ve authorized her to snuff it out. I’m not a fan of tampering with the internet—free speech and all that—but this time it’s different. I won’t let that bastard have his way.” Tony settled back on the couch, brushed a hand over his eyes. “Besides, I have everything I need here. I can handle a little isolation.”

Pepper didn’t know if she agreed. She thought it’d be easier to let the news out, to make things as normal as possible, but normal was never a possibility in Tony’s life. She’d heard the risks too, health-wise, and knew that in the end it would only bring the brunet more stress if his pregnancy was made public. She could just imagine the media harassing him, constantly, about it all, about his relationship.

Pepper was more than angry with Steve. Tony was her closest friend, had been her boyfriend for a while. They simply hadn’t worked out romantically, wanted different things, had different expectations. The break up was mutual. She was really happy when he’d found someone though, and thought Steve trustworthy, a good partner. She thought he would care for Tony, protect him, until the end of his days. Apparently that wasn’t the case. She never anticipated the soldier would fuck things up so spectacularly, that he’d willingly be parted from Tony. She never thought that Steve would hurt Tony, like so many others had. Pepper was smart, had good intuition, but she never saw any of this coming, and it was all still kind of hard to believe. She had to roll with the punches though, they all did, and try to make the best of it. She understood Tony’s desire for privacy, his insistence on keeping all of this to himself, given the circumstances. The last thing Tony needed was to be the center of worldwide gossip—again. It wouldn’t be easy on him though, or his child, and that made her nervous.

She would do all she could, of course, but that didn’t stop her from starting to worry almost immediately, and for that worry to increase with each passing week. Rhodey worried too, more than anyone. Speaking of Rhodey…

“Have you told Rhodey yet? About today, I mean.”

Tony scoffed. “Are you kidding? If I told him now, he’d probably cut his mission short to choke Ross to death. No, I’ll wait until he comes back in a day or two. He’ll be too tired then to really do anything.”

“Good plan,” Pepper sighed. He had a healthy respect for authority, naturally, but Rhodes also had an incredible soft spot for Tony, and there was no doubt in her mind he would do whatever it took to defend their friend, as he had in the past.

She looked over Tony now, took in his appearance. He looked kind of exhausted, kind of sad, despite her presence. The day had clearly taken a lot out of him. His eyes were flitting around the room, like he couldn’t find a place for them to rest, like he was still on edge. She was sure he was having a hard time resting all together lately.

“Hey…” she said softly, and set a hand on his shoulder. “Come here.” She gently pulled him over on the couch.

Tony didn’t resist her touch, hardly ever did, and allowed himself to be pulled in a hug. Her touch was warm and kind. It was really nice, after what had happened today. Pepper brought a hand up, gently stroked his hair, twisted her fingertips through his curls. He’d always liked that, liked how safe it felt, and he closed his eyes now, relished in the sensation. He was so thankful for her, for their friendship. She’d been put in harm’s way more than once because of him, but had stuck around anyway, and that made him eternally grateful.

After a few moments, Tony sighed softly, pulling back from the hug. “Thanks. I needed that.”

Pepper smiled at him, rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. “I know.”

There was a pause, where they just looked at each other, tried to process the day’s events, and the new revelations. Eventually, Pepper leaned over to pick up her purse. “So I brought some paint swatches,” she started, fishing around in the bag. “We can pick a color scheme and start from there. I also picked up some catalogs. Flipping through them is a little more fun than staring at a screen all day. My eyes are getting sick of that. I don’t know how you keep doing it.”

Tony smiled, leaned over to get a better look at what she was pulling out. He was pretty excited, he could admit, to start putting the nursery together. The comment about screens made him smile. “Oh, I’m well aware my eyes are going to permanently suffer screen-burn one day, but I’ll just pay for new ones,” he joked.

Pepper rolled her eyes, laughed softly. She spread out some strips of paper over the coffee table. Each held a few different colors. A lot of nurseries had pastel colors, or hardly any color at all these days, but Pepper knew Tony wouldn’t really like that. She picked vibrant colors, with plenty of contrast, that seemed happy. Tony, and his future baby, could use some happiness. She was determined to give it to them where she could.

Tony leaned over the coffee table, took in the different swatches. He wasn’t really a fan of green, and the purple didn’t seem right. Red was a little narcissistic, for this purpose, and the one swatch of neutrals didn’t stick out to him at all. There was a golden-yellow that he was kind of leaning towards. It reminded him of the sun, of summertime. He really liked that. There was a blue, though, and it…it caught his attention.

Tony picked up the slip of paper, studied it silently. It wasn’t a perfect match, wasn’t the real thing, but it was close enough. It was almost the shade of blue of Steve’s eyes.

Tony exhaled softly, ran his fingers over the little square of color. He’d missed that color, wanted nothing more than to see it again over the last few weeks, even if Steve pissed him off, had hurt him too bad, and now it made a lump form in his throat. It really struck him, now. He was having a baby, Steve’s baby, and that baby may never have the chance to meet Steve, to meet their father. Steve could be on the run for the rest of his life, possibly, if they couldn’t find a way to fix everything.

Tony knew he could never bring himself to replace Steve, didn’t _want_ to replace him, despite everything. But would Tony’s child resent him for it, for living without a father? Would they be angry with him, with both of them, for bringing them into the world in a broken family? Tony wasn’t sure. He was a little afraid of it, but supposed that would be something to worry about far, far down the road. There were plenty of other concerns presently.

He could feel Pep’s eyes on him now, waiting patiently for him to make a decision. Part of him thought picking the blue was a bad idea, that it would just make him more miserable. After all, how could he function, with a reminder of Steve all over the walls? But part of him wanted his baby to have this, this part of Steve. It was the only part Tony could give, really.

His thoughts flickered to the shield for a moment, which he’d long ago locked in Steve’s office. He didn’t even really remember bringing it with him from Siberia, but had the sense not to leave it behind apparently. Who knows who could have found it otherwise. It was better here, safe, even if it sat collecting dust, if no one even gave it a glance.

He did wonder how Steve was getting along without it; he’d had it for so long, had used it to protect, to fight. But he’d also used it to tear them apart. Maybe he deserved to struggle out there without it now. But Steve could handle himself, Tony was sure. He’d always been good at handling himself.

Tony would have to handle himself from now on, like he had before Steve. He’d never been particularly successful at it, but had managed. If there was a time before Steve, there could surely be a time after Steve, he rationed. Would it be a better time? That was another question entirely, and one he couldn’t answer. Even so, he was reluctant to let go of any of it, and of Steve himself, even if he wasn’t sure at the moment if he could stand to be in the same room as the man. As always, the brunet’s heart was a storm of confliction.

He licked his lips, glanced at the golden-yellow again. It was a really lovely color, probably the loveliest of the bunch. He wanted to use it, could imagine it on the walls of the room he’d selected, thought about how the morning light would highlight the color. Tony picked it up, held it in his other hand, opposite of the blue swatch. The two colors together held a lovely contrast, vibrant, but not shocking, and pleased him more than he thought it would. That…yes, that would do it. Tony made up his mind.

“Both of these,” he said. “I want the yellow on three walls, and the blue on the fourth.”

Pepper smiled a little, saw the approval in his eyes, and didn’t feel the need to disagree. “Okay, great. I can work with that. Let’s take a look at some furniture, huh?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave your thoughts in the comments <3


End file.
